


Moonlight

by SpearsAbo



Category: Hellsing
Genre: Blood and Gore, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Mutilation, Physical Abuse, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:22:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29055087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpearsAbo/pseuds/SpearsAbo
Summary: Hundreds of disappearances on the outskirts of London and the surrounding cities have astounded and frustrated authorities for centuries. Fed up with the lack of answers, the Queen has finally decided to send Integra after the culprit. However, it seems as though somebody else has caught attention of this mysterious culprit and seems to be hunting them at the same time. However, the suspect seems to be more cunning than either of them would have thought and they both find themselves lost in the endless pile of clues. Just how do they keep getting away from them?
Relationships: Captain Hans Günsche/Original Character(s)





	1. Chapter 1

_“You know, I am absolutely obsessed with you. So, so very cute!”_

_Hazel eyes widened in return and the man before her shifted uncomfortably in his restraints. She leaned forward and he pressed his back into the back of the chair behind him, attempting to stay as far away from the woman as possible._

_Snickering slightly, a smile creeped onto her face. It looked sweet in nature, but he could see the underlying threat of it. Nothing good ever came from her smiles, no matter how cheerful they seemed._

_They stayed like that for a long, few moments. Her red eyes bored into his hazel ones, his face soon dripping with sweat, and his stomach twisting itself into knots. His broken fingers twitched and trembled slightly, though she seemed to be ignorant of it. Finally, she shifted, and just when he thought she was about to attack, she simply stood up to her full height and walked over to the large window in the room._

_“The moon’s really pretty, you know?” she said. Uncharacteristically, she looked somber-almost depressed. A frown sat on her face as she stared at said moon. He lifted his eyes to look at it as well, and found he couldn’t argue with her previous statement. The moon tonight was full and lit the room they were in in a pale bluish tint. It almost put him at ease even with the surrounding danger._

_Continuing to stare at the moon, she began talking to him once more. “Your time is coming soon. I have no need for you anymore. Quite honestly, you’re getting boring. I need something to entertain me...yes, I believe you will meet your demise soon. I’m just not sure how to go about it,” she turned to face him, a childish curiosity settling onto her face, “How would you prefer to die?”_

_There was no way for him to answer the question as a gag was currently in his mouth, and she knew this all too well. Grinning slightly when he began to mumble against the gag, she mocked him._

_“What’s that? I could not hear you clearly,” she placed a hand to her ear as it to motion this._

_Once again, despair pooled in his stomach. She loved toying with him, it was probably one of her most beloved pastimes. She would put on an innocently sweet facade before revealing her true nature. And he fell for the ploy every single time it was used._

_Groaning, he lowered his head in humiliation and felt embarrassed tears prick his eyes. He heard her barking laugh from above him. “What is the matter? You seemed so confident not so long ago? Where on earth did all of that arrogance run off to? You’re a pathetic sack of shit now, yes, I do believe it is time to put you out of your misery.”_

_Another low groan emitted from him, however, he only heard silence answer him. Raising his head, he saw that she was nowhere to be found. The curtains that were right next to the spot in which she had been standing swayed slightly, giving indication that she had once been there, and most likely fled._

_Turning his head, he saw the door to the bedroom in which he was being held captive in. The door was clamped shut, however, the deadbolt had not been turned to lock the room, hinting that she would be returning soon._

_Once the door creaked open a few minutes later, he knew he was correct. His heart began to beat as he heard her rustling behind him. Her intentions were unknown to him, and he sweated at all of the possibilities. When she claimed that it would be his time soon, he was unaware it would be this soon._

_“Please stop,” he attempted to call out, but the gag forced his plea into nothing but gibberish._

_She giggled behind him and he heard another shuffle. “Honestly, why do you wish to stay alive at this point? You’re not leaving, and look at the state you are in; you are death personified.”_

_Looking down at himself, he knew she was correct. All of her games had taken a toll on him. Each of his ten fingers had been snapped in half and were covered in black and blue bruises. Several of his nails had been pried off and had forced them down his throat. Stubborn as ever, he had refused to swallow them and puked them back onto the floor. Although she had been disgusted by the act, she laughed. That night, he had tube fed him his own vomit and laughed as tears streamed down his face._

_Chunks of flesh had been torn from his legs and scratches marked them up and down. She had claimed that “her dogs needed to eat something”, and he had been too exhausted after the ordeal to argue with her. There had been so much adrenaline pumping through his body that he could no longer feel the pain, but he constantly felt like he was disassociating from himself. He constantly tried to be somewhere else mentally; it was almost like a coping mechanism for him._

_She had caught onto his methods soon, and this was probably what had made their games boring to her. He no longer cared about providing her with hours of entertainment. She had played too roughly, and now her toy was broken and beyond repair._

_“Oh well, I will just find a new one,” she was speaking behind him, “I will find someone better than you, and my toys will keep improving. Though, I have to admit,” a small hand forced his head back and to look her in the eyes, “you were one of my favorites. Such a sweetheart you were,” she cooed and smiled._

_Had she not been in the midst of torturing him, he would have found her exceptionally beautiful. Light brown curls framed her face perfectly and her jawline was sharp. She had a delicate nose and soft, pink lips. Her cheeks were always rosy and she had a cheerful personality despite the danger she posed. The only thing that warned you of her true colors were her eyes and teeth. Those red eyes, the thing that should have raised red flags inside his own mind when he first saw her. Overcome with infatuation, he always found himself unable to pull away until it was too late to do so. Now, he wished he would have started running as soon as he saw her._

_“I can’t wait to find the next one. I think I’ll go for a blonde this time. I saw this boy the other day, and he looked like an angel. Perhaps I should choose him? Or should I look at all of my options? I mean, either way it holds no meaning to me - I’m in no rush. I’ll be around for a while, so there is no use in rushing. I have a lifetime to find one - literally,” she ranted to herself, though she was still staring down at him. Not wanting to anger her, he stared right back but felt dread towards the boy she was referring to._

_“I’m not exactly sure how I want to get rid of you. I know I have to take care of the body, but the dogs will take care of that. Either that or I could…” she drifted off, clearly thinking about what her options were, “I could also drain your blood for future meals, but what to do before that? There are so many things I could choose to do, maybe I’ll let you choose?”_

_He knew she would never allow for that to happen. She might say it’s an option, but she’ll never hand him any sort of power without there being a catch to it. She would always be in charge._

_Releasing his head, she walked away and he heard the door open and close. However, he never heard the door click shut; she would be returning soon. As he waited for her, he heard the door being softly opened and heard soft footsteps. Glancing down, he saw both of her dogs._

_As expected of the dogs, they wagged their tails at the unknown visitor man and made their way to sniff him. The dogs, unlike their owner, seemed happily oblivious of the situation and happy to see that they had a guest. They brought some final moments of peace for him, until the door creaked back open._

_“Keiko, Bruno, what are you two doing in here?” she asked the dogs before kneeling to pet them, “You’re so cute, yes you are,” she showered the dogs in praises before shooing them out politely._

_“They’re such good dogs, aren’t they? I love them so much, anyways, back to you. I think I’m going to drain you in that bathtub,” she motioned towards a closed door on the opposite side of the room, “Not a whole lot to ruin on you anyways. At this point, it would just be excessive, you know?”_

_She moved behind him and he heard soft clicking and pouring sounds from behind him. Another click was heard and she placed a gloved hand on the side of his head. Hesitantly, his head moved with her hand and he found himself being injected. Within seconds of the syringe being removed, he felt an odd sensation all over his body and soon it felt numb._

_Unlatching his restraints, she pushed him out of the door and he landed with a thud against the floor. Moaning, he realized just what she had done. She had paralyzed his entire body-not numbed it as he originally thought. He squirmed, attempting to move on his own. However, his thin and weak body refused to cooperate, opting to lie against the hardwood flooring instead. Horror dawned on him as throbbing spurts of pain rang throughout his body; he was about to be completely defenseless to whatever plans she had in store for him._

_“Upsy daisy,” she mumbled to herself and wrapped her short arms around his waist. Huffing softly, she hoisted him up and dragged him towards the bathroom. Shoving the door open, she carried him to the porcelain bathtub and sat him down in it._

_Unable to hold himself up, he slumped against the tub and followed her movements with his eyes. She hummed as she worked, leaving the bathroom several times to gather numerous tools. His eyes widened when he saw her laying a large butcher knife, a small scalp, and numerous other sharp objects on the counter. A rope was also added to the collection of the tools, however it did not join its comrades on the counter. Instead, she approached him and began to bind him. Once he was properly restrained, she left the room with another rope. This time, it was used to hoist him to a bar that was hung directly over the bathtub._

_**This isn’t the first time she has done this.** _

_Now suspended in the air, his head hung limply. She danced around the bathroom, completely oblivious to his pain, or reveling in it. Either way made sense._

_Finally, she stopped dancing to the unheard song, and grabbed the butcher knife. He found himself unable to look her in the eyes, staring at her shoes instead. He knew that maniacal grin would be plastered all over her face. He would be sure to piss himself at this point he was so terrified._

_Taking a fist full of his already thin hair, she forced his head up and he was forced to confront that sickening smile. The blade tickled his chin and his heart skipped a beat._

_“It’s your time,” she whispered in his ear. Moaning, he weakly agreed._

_A choked scream managed to escape his lips as the blade was shoved into his lower belly._

_**Drip. Drip. Drip.** _

_He heard the blood splatter into the tub below and pain brewed within. And with one quick move, she gutted him. Shoving the knife all the way to his chest, she laughed. Vulnerable, he accepted the pain and finally black spots began to pepper his vision._

_“Too bad you didn’t last longer, although I can’t really complain too much. Now, you are a free meal,” she mused to herself, “Ooh, look at those organs falling out!”  
Confusion shrouded his mind and his eyes glanced down towards the tub. His screams were slurred as he saw his own organs laying right below him, a small pool of blood surrounding them. He heard another plop and squishing noise and saw another organ join it. And another. And another. He kept watching the organs and blood fall into the tub, staining it, and started to doze off as he did. The last vision before it was gone altogether was that sweet smile for hers. As he fell asleep to it, he realized that this would happen again soon. Another poor, unfortunate soul would die, it’s last vision being her smile. _

_She watched him slowly die. That shimmer that had once resided within his hazel eyes was no more. He had been such fun in the beginning. Maybe that was because of the infatuation factor. Or perhaps it was because he was too stupid to realize the danger he was in. Either way, he had provided her with some entertainment despite her boring life. Sadly, their once fun games oozed to predictability. She always knew what he would say or do and there was no longer any fight to him. Yet another toy broken._

_Snarling, she complained to herself, “Whatever, I’ll find another. These dumbasses keep getting fucking stupider and stupider. It won’t take me long.”_

_She gripped the knife and dug it back down to his lower belly. More stomach contents fell into the tub. As they did, she took the knife and slit his throat. Blood squirted and flowed from the wound and she raised her mouth to it. Her tongue slid over the cut and she reveled in the taste of this man’s blood. He might have been useless, but he had such a sweet taste._

_“Fucking pig doesn’t deserve to taste that good!” In anger, she chopped the man’s head clean off with the knife. Holding the head she mocked it, “What a fucking pathetic man. I’ve never been so disappointed in my life. No need to fear, I will find someone far better than you could have ever been,” suddenly a softer expression nestled onto her face, “But, you were really sweet. Tsk, too bad, if only you could have kept it up.”_

_After giving the head a soft kiss on the lips, she tossed it back into the tub with little regard. “Now, time to get rid of the rest of the body,” she said with a grin._

“The numerous disappearances within the countryside surrounding London and neighboring cities have captivated authorities for several decades. Hundreds of men have gone missing without a trace, and no belongings of any of the victims has ever been recovered. We believe that these disappearances began in the early to mid seventeenth century. Given that we believe the same individual has been the same culprit throughout the centuries, it is safe to assume we are dealing with the supernatural-most likely a vampire. However, with a lack of body to analyze, it is difficult to say for sure. We have called on you, Integra Hellsing, to help resolve this issue.” 

Thin lips curled into a smirk. “I vampire, you say?” 

“Yes ma’am, we do believe this is the work of a vampire,” a young man replied. 

“How interesting...and if this turns out to not be a vampire?” Integra questioned, though her smirk remained. 

The young man returned the smirk. “Her Highness would not have called on you if she did not believe you could handle the task. Well, I should say if she did not believe that your…vampire hunter could not handle the job.”

Integra chuckled, mildly amused. “I believe he will love the challenge. Please, do assure Her Highness to not fret. Everything will be handled accordingly.” 

The young man stood and nodded in agreement. “Yes, I have no doubt that you will. Now then, please do alert us if anything new comes, and do ask if you require any materials or assistance. With that, I leave this case to your authority, Integra Hellsing.”

Standing, Integra returned the nod. “Thank you, the case will be completed soon.” 

With one final nod, the young man escorted her out of the small, dimly lit room, making note of the used ashtray and lingering scent of smoke. He would have to get the room cleaned soon. 

Outside, an older gentleman stood, smiling brightly once he caught sight of them. “Sir,” he acknowledged, and turning to the man, he slightly bowed to show respect as well. He handed Integra her coat and she slowly put it on. Turning back to the boy, she assured him once more, “Once we are finished, I will return for my report.” 

“Certainly, follow me, I will escort you to your car. Security has been heightened due to the disappearances,” he began walking. 

They followed, and once they made it to the car, the young man waved them off and came back from the way they had come. Walter held the door open and slid into the driver’s seat himself. 

“Another mission from Her Majesty?” 

“Yes,” Integra answered, glancing at the file in her own hand.


	2. Chapter 2

_Cherry eyes squinted behind sunglasses as their owner mentally scowled. Although shielded by an umbrella, the effects of the sunlight were still present, given her itchy and irritable skin and current headache. Despite how long she had been alive, she had yet to find an effective remedy or protection against the sunlight. However, she had found that hats and sunglasses were better than nothing._

_Over the decades, she had also discovered that it was easier to find new people during the day rather than night. The night owls might be drunker, but they also came in groups; she only needed a single person._

_About twenty years ago, a small cafe was built in downtown London. It was sweet and simple, but was popular for teengers and adults alike. People were constantly buzzing in and out, and chatting with friends or on business calls. There was also an outside sitting area which was where she currently sat, a newspaper in hand and a cup of tea in front of her-untouched._

_Usually, she only skimmed through the papers to appear normal to outsiders. However, a certain bold-faced headline had caught her attention: **“Mysterious Disappearances Captivate Authorities”.** After quickly reading through the article underneath, she quickly put two and two together. Frowning, she tried to figure out what she had done wrong this time. She had nothing different with this human, so why were they just now worried with the disappearances? _

_“Aye, you reading about them disappearances?”_

_Looking up, two bright blue eyes met hers through the lens. Not wanting to frighten the man, she beamed a smile back at him, “Yes, it is so odd. They say people have been disappearing for centuries. Who on earth could pull that off?”_

_“Shit, I’m starting to think a demon’s lurking around town,” he laughed, “Either that or a family of psychopaths.”_

_She giggled in return and nodded to the chair across from her. “Would you like to join me?”_

Numerous files sat scattered all over the mahogany desk. Many held information regarding the specific men who had disappeared throughout the years. There was no pattern to those who had been taken, all coming from differing backgrounds. Numerous had come from a middle class background, married to a wonderful wife and with two children, while others had come from prestigious lives. The entire debacle was so odd, and infuriated Integra to no end. And with no bodies, she had no idea of what the motive of all of it was. 

_“Perhaps I could offer assistance, Master,”_ a deep voice rang throughout the room and blue eyes gave a roll to the sound of it. 

Glancing outside the window, Integra could see the sun beginning to sink low into the sky. Even so, sunlight still beamed through the large window. Brow furrowing, she answered back to the voice, “It’s awful early for you to be awake, Alucard.” 

Deep laughter resounded all around the room. “You forgot to answer my question.” 

“No question was asked,” Integra snorted, clearly annoyed. Shaking off the vampire’s presence, she reached for her box of cigarettes laying on the desk. Plucking one from the box, she lit and began smoking, watching as wisps of smoke curled in the air. 

“Yes, you have a point. Would you like me to offer my assistance with this, my Master?” 

Integra pondered the idea for a moment before shaking her head free from the ludicrous idea. Alucard was the last thing she needed working alongside her on this case. Given his impulsiveness, Alucard would only add chaos to the mix which could put her at a serious disadvantage when dealing with something of the unknown. 

However, she was not entirely against asking him his opinions. 

“Alucard, what exactly do you think this is we are dealing with?” 

Red eyes flickered down to the files and his brow raised. Taking a hint, Integra slid them towards him. Plucking one at random, he opened it and examined it for a few long seconds. “None of these men are ever seen again?”

“No, once they go missing, they stay missing.”

“Interesting...and it’s only men who go missing?” 

Integra nodded. “Do you believe a vampire is behind this?”

“It’s possible. However, without bodies, you could safely assume anything of supernatural descent is behind it.”

“So, what you’re saying is that the only assumption we can make so far is that this being is not human.” 

“If it were human, it would need to be throughout the generations.” 

“Have you ever heard of something like this?” 

Alucard pondered it for a minute, and then, “Only once before. However, this one was brought to attention much faster, and handled efficiently. Typically, vampires keep to themselves and try not to raise any suspicions. This one here seems not too worried about anybody being onto her given how often she abducts.”

“What makes you think it’s a female?” 

Alucard peered at Integra over the top of a vanilla envelope. “Why would it not be? I hardly see a reason for a male to only abduct males.” Placing down the envelope, he picked up another, read it, then read another, and another. “They’re all different types of people. How interesting. She doesn’t seem to be too picky.”

The thought made Integra slightly uneasy. “What would the purpose be for this?”

“Boredom.”

“You really mean to tell me that a vampire would only do this out of boredom alone?” 

“Why else would they? Being a vampire is only fun for a few years, after that it becomes mundane. Given that she started doing this during the seventeenth century, it’s safe to say she’s quite old and easily adaptable if she is able to pluck men this quickly. If we were to even run into her in an accident, we would be unable to distinguish her from the rest of society.”

“What do you think she is doing with them?” 

“You know if you would like my assi-”

“Alucard, shut up and answer the question please.” 

“I can’t give an answer without seeing a body.” 

“No, but you can take a guess.” 

Frowning, Alucard sat his hat on the desk below him. “She’s either murdering them or making them into fledglings.”

“What would you do if you were her?” 

“Kill them then drink their blood.” 

“How interesting...Alucard, I may require your help with this. However, for now, you will go about as usual. When I require you, I will call for you,” Integra ordered. 

Within seconds, Alucard had disappeared. Integra had looked down to read a file and looked back up to see him missing. Although it does not shock her, it does mildly disappoint Integra. This case has been sitting cold for decades; nobody having the knowledge or power to locate whoever was behind this. Her Highness had kept the case files locked away, knowing the true nature of their suspect. In fact, she had been quietly awaiting the day she could hand them over to Integra so she could deal with the problem at once. 

_Her laughter is loud. Obnoxiously so. In fact, had anyone been paying attention, they would have noticed the way the skin on her hands cracked beneath the harsh glare of the sun. They would have seen the bitterness lurking under her eyes. Usually, it’s a bit more hidden as she tries to not scare away her newly found friends. However, she finds it a bit more difficult to push down today._

_This man has grown rather annoying in a matter of minutes. He’s loud and rather rude; definitely not her type at all. And the more she observes him, the more imperfections she sees: his yellowing teeth, scrawny built, messy hair. Honestly, the longer he sits with her, the more irritated she grows. Nonetheless, she pushes it all down and forces a fake smile onto her face and forces laughter to come out. And he seems rather ignorant of her fakeness as he keeps chatting._

_On a normal occasion, she would offer him to come home with her for dinner. “A nice baked dish,” was her usual hook and the men seemed to eat the bullshit up just fine. With this man though, she found herself looking for reasons to leave and abandon the idea altogether. When she finally comes up with one, she quietly interrupts him._

_“Terribly sorry, love, I’m just feeling a bit tired. I think I’m going to head back home for a bit.” A complete lie, but she can’t stand to hear this man talk for five more minutes._

_His smile fades and she sees his facade stripped away rather quickly. Though he doesn’t vocally curse her, she knows he’s considering doing so. “Ah? Oh, fine. Take care.” The man stands up and walks away. As she’s gathering her own belongings, she hears him chatting up another lovely lady._

_“How unfortunate for her,” she mumbles so only she can hear, and she’s off, a little saddened on her way back home. Typically, the cafe was a great way to lure new people in. First the newspaper and now this? She was really starting to lose her touch._

_Walking to her car, she reaches out to open her door when she catches a patch of light blonde hair amongst the crowd. Confused on why that person specifically has peaked her interest, she immediately changes her mind and walks away from the car, locking it once more._

_Within seconds, she locates the man again in the crowd, though it’s not exactly hard to do so. He’s a huge man, probably standing at about six foot eight or nine and looks to be extremely fit. Yes, he is larger than the average man, but that doesn’t explain why she noticed him out of all of the people. There’s something more to him._

_A smile instantly returns to her face and she begins to skip in the crowd. No one ushers words of annoyment, no, they all think she’s rather cute-she tends to have that effect on people. She catches up to him, but strays far enough to stay out of his sight; she doesn’t want him to see her just yet. There’s really no point in him seeing her if he doesn’t have to._

_So, she follows him around in the city for a bit, though she doesn’t see anything special about him aside from the sheer amount of muscle. He seems like he’s doing everyday tasks like he normally does. He goes into one store and comes out with a small bag of clothes, he goes into another and comes out with the same result._

_The unnecessary stalking has her bored after a while, so she thinks about dropping the idea. There’s really no need to kidnap and kill an innocent man, especially now with the authorities beginning to pay attention. In fact, she’s beginning to turn and walk the other way when it finally hits her just what was so odd about the man.  
Grinning, she turns right back around and heads into the department store he had just entered. He had just walked in seconds ago, so he couldn’t have made it far. Sure enough, she glances in a certain direction and sees the pale blonde hair. _

_She walks with a bounce as she begins to approach him. She’s beyond excited; she would have never thought in a million years she would come across someone of his kind. They were so incredibly rare these days, in fact, she had thought they had gone extinct decades ago. How lucky was she?_

_He’s rummaging through some clothes when she walks up behind him. His fingers pause their rummaging for a split second; it’s so fast, she barely manages to catch it. Not letting her distract him, he keeps looking through the clothes, intent on finding something. Once he has found this, he stands back up to his full height, having bent down to reach the rack of shirts._

_They both stare at her and she finally gets to see the face of this “man”. It looks just how she would expect it to-intimidating and angry. His maroon eyes are what catches her interest. They stare down at her with such boredom, though he knows her for what she truly is. Though, she can’t really blame him. After all, his power seems to be ancient, almost like an old man just wanting to be left alone. She can’t help but to be enraptured by this._

_“I thought your kind died out long ago,” she says, a lazy smile settling onto her face while he glares in return. Rather, he looks as if he wants to kill her in the spot she stands, but she knows he won’t. This old man won’t be willing to start a fight in the middle of a store in downtown London._

_“Are you the last?”_

_Once again, he only glares at her, but it doesn’t discourage her one bit. In fact, she likes it even more. Such a huge difference from the man at the cafe._

_Giggling, she peers at the bags in his large hands. “I can’t imagine these are for yourself. Hardly your type, so I’m guessing you're under servitude?”_

_Finally, his eyebrow twitches and she knows she was correct in her assumption. His kind had been hunted at one point, almost to the brink of extinction. Looks like he had escaped the hunters, but was forced into servitude. Her heart aches for those-trapped and unable to live a free life. However, there is nothing she can really do at this point. So, she waves him goodbye. “I highly doubt we’ll ever come across from each other, but if we do happen to cross paths again, I’m Rose,” she leans forward and he hesitantly watches her pull the dog tag from underneath his jacket, “Hans Gunsche,” she mumbles, a small smile setting onto her face._

_Then, there’s a sharp pain in her wrist and she finds her arm stuck. Moving so quickly she didn’t even see him, Hans had taken a grip on her wrist and pressed her up against the wall with her arm pinned to her back. Darting her eyes back and forth, she quickly realizes nobody is around and she’s not sure if she’s happy or upset about that. However, once he begins forcing her arm to move and force it out of place, she’s upset about it. Pushing against the wall, she’s trying to escape his grip or at least give herself some leverage. Each time she does so, he pushes her right back into the wall, this time breaking a few of her ribs in the process._

_Groaning, she lessens her struggling. She’ll regenerate new bones in a matter of a couple of hours, but it still hurts._

_He keeps her pinned like that for a few moments and then just releases her. At first she doesn’t see what his reasoning is. Then, she just assumes that he does this to prove a point. Point well proven._

_“Fine,” she grumbles, rubbing her arm, “I’ll leave you alone.”_

_She turns, but before she can even take a step, he has a grip on her arm. She’s about to lash out at him when he forces her back towards him. The yank catches her off guard and she finds herself falling right into him. Immediately, the grip on her arm is gone and it’s suddenly in her hair and she’s being yanked back so she’s not touching him anymore._

_She would be lying if she said she wasn’t into this, but she refused to admit that to him. When he goes to yank her around again, she finds his hand and snaps two fingers in half. Slightly growling, he finally pulls his hand away while she takes the chance to rub her sore head. “Asshole,” she mutters._

_He snorts in return and stares down at her. She’s picking up on the fact that he doesn’t speak, though she hasn’t pieced together just why yet. She can’t figure out if he can’t speak or if he just chooses not to. Either way, she doesn’t really care._

_In the midst of their staredown, they begin to hear nearby talking, signaling humans. She fixes her hair and he makes sure his fingers have completely healed. They walk towards the checkout lines and she finds herself lingering around._

_“What brought you here anyways?”_

_More silence._

_“Who are you with?”_

_Some more silence._

_“You’re not giving me anything to work with.”_

_Hans remains silent, but he does stare at her as she’s interrogating him. He can obviously understand her, but the man refuses to talk. However, before she can say anything else, Hans is being called up to pay._

_Finally growing bored, Rose turns to walk off. There’s no doubt in her mind that Hans will not give her the fun she is looking for even if he would enjoy it as well. Therefore, there is no reason for her to stay any longer._

_Fixing up her sunglasses, she prepares to enter the late afternoon sunlight. She hardly makes it five feet out the store doors when a large hand rests on her shoulder._

_Turning back, she sees Hans’ cool face peering down at her._


	3. Chapter 3

_Scoffing, a mouth curls into a sneer as she’s forced into the passenger seat of her own car. The strong hands that pushed her down into the seat disappear and they clam her door shut. Looking through the windshield, Rose watches Hans walk around her car briskly and get into the driver’s side. Despite the fact that she has no idea what he plans to do, she can’t help but to amuse herself with the thought of him driving. Honestly, who knew such an old man would keep up with technology?_

_Once he gets into the car and readjusts her seat for his bigger size, he holds his hand out. In return, she sticks her tongue out. She watches Hans’ eyebrows furrow and that’s when she decides to just fork over the keys; no need to have a repeat of the incident in the store._

_He starts the car and they begin to drive off. As they begin to exit the city, she decides it’s safe to pluck the bottle of blood she has in her glove compartment. Sucking it down quickly, she forces herself to not gag. Warm blood always tastes disgusting, but with the headache she was at the moment, it’s going to be her best friend._

_Hans sneers at her and she scrunches her nose in return. “I’ve gotta eat ya know.”_

_Grunting, he shakes his head._

_“Whatever, like I give a shit about what you think, old man. Where are we going anyways?” she asks._

_He doesn’t answer her at all this time, and when she looks over at him, he looks right back at her. Then, he raises a brow and points to her, keeping one hand on the wheel._

_“Huh? Honestly, I don’t know why you don’t just talk,” she complains, looking out the window and admiring the small farm they pass._

_He huffs and then points to another house they pass and then at her and suddenly she puts it together.  
“My house? Oh, we definitely shouldn’t go there,” she blurts out, laughing at a particular mess she knows of, “Well, actually,” she turns to Hans and leans towards him, “What do you werewolves eat? I could actually use your help?”_

_She sees her eyebrows twitch and his hand disappears in his jacket. It comes out holding a folder to which he holds out to her. Taking it from him and opening it, she sees the man from the night before and all of his information that authorities could have. Giggling, she shuffles through the file and its papers. It was all so interesting; she would have never guessed he had a wife and kids._

_Seeing a picture of his wife, she laughs even louder. “Heavens! That lady must have been truly desperate for a husband to marry a man like him. He was absolutely dreadful to deal with and has been a bigger mess to clean up.”_

_Remaining silent, Hans plucks the file from her hands and puts it back into his jacket. Once again, he points to a random house they pass by._

_Finally, she gives in and begins giving him directions to her isolated home. Truly, there was no point in being stubborn with him. If he wished to kill her, he could do so in an instant. Afterall, he managed to pin her and nearly tear her scalp off easily. It wouldn’t do too well to anger him directly._

_So, she keeps giving directions from the passenger seat until they pull into a gravel driveway which disappears into a bundle of trees. “Keep going until you see the house.”_

_Her house is pretty large, but perfectly hidden among all the trees. Standing tall and proud, her house carries an ominous touch. Plants have been steadily growing and now grow along the sides of her house and up the columns leading up to the main entrance. No matter how creepy, she loves the home she has made for herself._

_However, Hans doesn’t seem too impressed with it. He glances up at it as they’re approaching the nearly mansion-size house and then doesn’t seem to acknowledge it further. Once he gets the car parked, he gets out and walks to the other side to open her door as well._

_Just then does she realize the gravity of her situation. She’s finally all alone with the wolf and she has no idea what all he knows about her. Given that he has a file with her latest toy, she has no doubt he has caught onto her. But who is he? Who does he work for? He’s certainly no police officer of any kind, and she couldn’t really see him in any other profession besides maybe military personnel. His outfit doesn’t exactly give her any indication of this either as he’s simply wearing cargo pants, a plain t-shirt and a jacket._

_Together, they walk into her dark house and she wrinkles her nose when she smells the blood from the night before in the bathroom upstairs. Before she can say anything, the two dogs come barreling from their presumed nap spot somewhere in the house. The two german shepherds wag their tails as they approach the two of them. First, they greet their owner then they sneak past to the visitor._

_Rose watches Hans’ hard demeanor falter slightly as he kneels to pet both dogs. Both dogs revel in his attention, though this doesn’t surprise her. Mutts tended to hunt in packs._

_After a few moments, he finally stands but that doesn’t stop the dogs from being at his side. Wrinkling his nose, Hans walks past Rose and immediately heads for the stairs. Raising her brow, she follows him up to the main office of the house; where she had butchered the man from before._

_Inspecting the room, Hans doesn’t find too much except some dried drops of blood she has yet to clean. Other than that, the previous events are just a mere memory in this room. Currently, his butchered body sits in her basement, neatly laid on a gurney she managed to get decades ago. His body has been drained of the blood which sits in containers in her fridge, however she has yet to figure out what to do with the rest of him._

_Glancing up, she sees Hans looking around in the bathroom. **Maybe I have found a way to dispose of the body.**_

_Now, he didn’t answer her in the car on the way here, but she has her suspicions. Honestly, what else would a dog like himself eat?_

_Finally, he walks back to her and fishes the file out of his jacket again. Opening it, he points to the man’s picture. Raising a brow, “You wanna know where he is?”_

_Nodding, Hans places the file back into his jacket. She snorts softly but leads him back down the stairs to her basement. Once she opens the door to a separate section of the basement, she allows him to walk past her so he can perform his own inspection._

_Heading straight towards the body in the middle of the chamber, he observes the body, but refuses to touch it. Then he looks at the rest of the room’s contents. There’s an abundance of sedative drugs on a shelf in the room as well as different gags, chains, and ropes. On the walls, there’s different scalpels, knives, and other mutilating tools. There also happens to be posters of human anatomy hanging on the walls-even with all of her years of experience she still hasn’t perfected her cuts and the posters tend to help. Hans seems amused by the posters and spends a few minutes just looking at them and reading them._

_Finally, he leaves the room and she closes the door behind the both of them. As they’re walking up the stairs, she watches him pull a pager out of his pants pocket and watches him send a quick message to a mystery man._

_So he is bound in servitude. After all, there would be no need for him to take interest in her hobby unless a human he was bound to was looking into it. That, and why would he feel the need to keep up with the technology being used. None of it made any sense to her. Who would have been able to trap him in the first place?_

_She’s not observant enough to catch the message entirely, but she does catch a few German words. She manages to catch the words “female”, “vampire”, and “blood”. Assuming that he is informing his master of her activities, she knows she’ll have to start being more careful of her actions. She’s not sure just how much he has told this mystery recipient so far, and she’s not sure if he’ll trap her now that he knows._

_To her surprise, he doesn’t do anything really. He simply looks at the message he receives then puts the pager back into his pocket. This time, she doesn’t catch anything from the message, but she can only guess that the recipient is asking him to gather more information._

_Following him, she watches him wander around her house, presumably looking for anything else that could be interesting or hinting at her nightly activities. Considering all the men are slaughtered upstairs in the office or in the basement, she knows that he’ll find nothing else relating to the murders in any of the other rooms. Nonetheless, she allows him to investigate her house. For what reason? She genuinely has no idea. She’s already allowed him into her home; there’s really no need to back out of it now._

_So, he enters each room and finds it mostly unmoved. Most of the rooms are clean aside from the small amount of dust collected on top of the furniture. She really has no need to use all of her rooms, so she mainly keeps the extra bedrooms for just when she has extra company over, not that she has this often. In fact, the only rooms that have been used recently are her library, office, personal bedroom, and the basement and kitchen._

_He doesn’t take an interest in any of the rooms except for her own bedroom. It’s extremely clean and bare. The only things in her room are her bed which takes up a decent amount of space. The bed sits in the middle of the room and sits right below a large window and has a bed net falling from a railing above. There’s also a curved ottoman that is pressed against the end of her bed. The only things in this room are two night tables and a walk-in closet and bathroom._

_Hans wanders around the room and as he does so, she thinks mindless things such as whether she should get a rug for her room. Currently, her room looked bare, and it could use something else. While she zones out, he looks around and even looks in the night stands for anything interesting. She’s not too sure what he could be looking for, but she allows him to amuse himself._

_Once he’s thoroughly looked around the room, he leaves it, leaving her to shut the door behind him. They go back downstairs to which he pauses and reads another message on his pager. He sends a quick message back and then fixes himself up. Looking back at her, he points._

_“What?” she questions, growing irritated at his silence._

_He doesn’t verbally answer, but points to her then to the basement._

_“What about the man?”_

_Shaking his head, he begins to make motions and she slowly pieces them together. Almost like a game of charades. The first word she makes out is “people” and then “looking” and finally he points at her._

_“People are looking for me? They have been for centuries,” she cockily says, nose pointed in the air._

_Once again, he frowns and shakes his head. He points to her and then makes what she believes to be a cross symbol with his fingers. She first guesses the church then when he shakes his head she figures out he means another vampire._

_Although she couldn’t see why another vampire would be after her, she wouldn’t see the point in him lying about something like this. Likewise, this vampire would probably be in servitude to a human as they would likely not be as inclined to track her down if they were not._

_“Just how many vampires and werewolves are running around London tied to a master?” she questions, clicking her tongue in shame. “Honestly pathetic that you would allow yourselves to become bound to a human.”_

_He doesn’t say or motion anything in return, but he does seem to stand up a bit taller at her accusation. Clearly, it has irritated him, but his irritation seems to fade a bit when her dogs are at his side again._

_“Like I give a shit about another vampire looking for me. They’ll meet their demise the same way all those humans have,” she remarks, watching him pet the dogs._

_For a split second, she sees a smile crack onto his face. However, it’s not one of joy, but rather malice. Almost a cocky and arrogant smile, as if he knows something that she doesn’t. However, he doesn’t let that smile stay on his face and it’s gone within milliseconds of ever appearing._

_“What are you smiling about?” she asks. She has yet to see that man break free from his hard glare, and to see him smile is chilling. He only offers a shake of his head and stands up once again after giving the dogs each a final pet._

_He opens the front door and steps out. She stands in the doorway and watches him walk down the stairs to the entrance of her home. In a blur of pale blue, he disappears and she watches a streak of that same color appear and disappear in the sky._

_Shaking her head, she closes her door and disappears into the shadows of her home._

Integra never would have believed she would be put in this position. After long deliberation and a long conversation with Walter, she had come to the conclusion to allow Alucard to conduct some of the investigation. It wasn’t like she had much of a choice; this creature was able to escape detection for hundreds of years and Integra had scraps of evidence to go off of. Entering Alucard into the situation would only serve to help her. That, and he would have the company of the police girl. 

Seras had mentioned she had been a police officer in her previous life; perhaps that could help them to a degree? 

Either way, she proceeded and summoned Alucard and Seras. Alucard first appeared, misting into the room and stepping out from the dark corner of her office. Seras came not too long after him, being a bit more mindful and using the door. 

“I assume you’ve changed your mind, Master?” Alucard purred, his black hair in disarray and his red eyes peering at her between wisps of hair. 

For a moment, Integra stayed silent, wanting to savor the rest of her cigarette before she addressed either of them. Only when it was a pile of ashes did she address them to begin giving them their orders for the next few weeks. 

“As you know, I’ve been given the lead of the investigation that has plagued London for centuries. Men have been disappearing without a trace, and nobody knows who is responsible for this. We believe it to be a female vampire or other supernatural entity who has aged a considerable amount, but seems to adapt easily to changing times. Now, your orders are to start investigating downtown London in the next few weeks starting late in the afternoon and going until late at night. We may have to adjust accordingly to what kind of evidence you two uncover. Anything out of the ordinary, I want you to report as we will need everything we have to solve this and locate this being. Are these orders clear?” Integra concluded, handing Alucard and Seras some files. 

Alucard, already having seen these files, merely bowed and grinned. “Yes, thank you, Master.” 

Meanwhile, Seras forked through the files, her interest peaking in each one. Given her previous occupation, Integra is not surprised in the least by this. However, when Seras begins asking questions like there’s no tomorrow, Integra finds herself dismissing her with a small wave and, “Seras, if you have questions, consult Alucard. He already knows the details of this case.” 

Alucard doesn’t seem to be too thrilled by the thought of having to constantly be around Seras for the next few weeks. In fact, Integra can feel his irritation as the two vampires leave the room, the sound of Seras asking questions being heard until they finally grow too soft to hear. 

Leaning back in her chair, she looks up at the ceiling. She knows she’s probably taking the easy way out, but honestly she can not see herself getting any further in this case any other way. Just why did authorities allow this creature to keep hunting without any repercussions? Why was the Queen content with authorities doing this? Why hadn’t even her father been called onto this case? Had they just now put things together? Honestly, there were so many questions she had now that she had actually looked into the case in-depth. 

Sighing, she stood and looked out the window behind her desk. The moon was huge but considerably smaller than the night it had been a full moon. Grabbing a cigarette from the box sitting on her desk, she lit it and looked out into the countryside displayed out the window. 

_**Just where are you?** _


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me, for I think Integra is so out-of-character in this story. Also Seras and Alucard. The whole Hellsing hang is just out-of-character so I apologize

_Rose can’t help but to feel exhausted as she sits on the edge of her bed as the sun disappears behind the trees. Red eyes droop and she fights off the urge to sleep; she can’t fall asleep now. It’s far too risky. People are onto her, though that might not be entirely true._

_Thinking back to Hans, Rose finds herself puzzled as to why he would alert her of upcoming danger. There was absolutely nothing for him to gain at all in doing so, in fact, it seemed like his master was hunting her down. What was stopping him from just capturing her and killing her right then and there? Or maybe he was just waiting it out? Maybe the kill would come later? He had the capability to do so-he knew where she resided now and he knew she was the one they were after._

_For the first time in her long life, she felt anxious. Heart sinking and chest exploding, Rose felt panicked and as if she needed to start running. Eyebrows furrowing, she turned her head to look out of the window. It was an understatement to say that she was a little bit disappointed that she would have to flee her home simply because of a silly mistake she had made. Had she known the man was aware of the disappearances, she probably would have avoided him in the first place. Now, because she was arrogant and curious about a werewolf in London, she would be forced to leave her home that she had built so long ago._

_Looking around her room, she realized it wouldn’t take too long for her to gather all of her belongings. Whatever she couldn’t manage to pack in her car on the first trip, she would just come back and get. Standing, she walked over to her closet and began to strip clothes from hangers and throw them onto her bed._

_What she had neglected to inform Hans of earlier was that she actually owned several houses spread throughout the countryside of London, each with a different layout and design. Each house had been put under an alias for her and the bills were each paid with her victims’ money. Honestly, she was not sure how people had not put anything together quite yet._

_As she folded her clothes neatly and placed them into spare boxes she found in her basement, she thought about which home to relocate to. Somewhere far was probably for the better. She was somewhat ignorant as to how werewolves functioned, but she was sure he would have been able to pick up scents miles away._

_As she bickered with herself about which house would be the safest for her to go to, she realized that she had another big problem: the body in the basement. Raising her hand, she made a quick motion to the bed net and watched it blow up in flames before she quickly retracted her hand and watched them die back down instantly. Yes, she could burn the body, but could she make the flames hot enough to incinerate the body entirely?_

_Not able to give a definitive answer, she decided against the idea. She would only burn the house down, but she had to figure something else out for the body. Jaw clenched, she shoved more clothes into a box and rushed to set the first of many boxes into her rather small car._

Integra would be lying if she said she was not exhausted. Eyes burning and muscles sore from fatigue, she wished to just go back to bed. 

Earlier in the morning, Integra had been abruptly awakened by the telephone. Startled, then angry, she snatched the phone from the receiver and answered rather rudely. She quickly apologized when she realized it was Seras. 

“Yes, I will be right there,” Integra mumbled once Seras had explained what they had come across. 

Walter was already waiting at the front entrance of the manor when Integra practically came running down the stairs. Holding the keys in his and offering a small bow, he then opened the door for her. 

“I assume they have already informed you of the discovery?” he asked, opening the car door for her. 

“Yes, they told me they sensed a large fire nearby and went to investigate it,” she said, Seras having only explained minimally about the situation. 

“Do you believe it to be related to our case?” Walter queried. 

Although she hated jumping to conclusions, Integra did have a sneaky feeling their culprit was behind this. “It’s too much of a coincidence that only after I take charge of this case that this happens,” she explains, “And with it being this close to the manor, I can’t afford to take a chance.”

Nodding, Walter seemed to silently agree with her. And after that, the ride was silent. Not that much needed to be said, both were tired. So, Walter drove and Integra looked out the window until he finally came to a gravel driveway that disappeared into the trees. As he drove further along the driveway, she saw the damage of the fire with trees being torched and finally coming to Alucard and Seras standing in front of a huge pile of ashes. 

Climbing out of the car, Integra slowly approached the two vampires and stood there, examining the scene before looking to Alucard for some answers. 

“We sensed a fire nearby and we both went to investigate,” Alucard started, staring at the ashes, “Whoever is responsible started this hours ago and managed to get a large head start on us.”

“So, you do think our culprit is behind this?” 

Alucard nodded. “But I think you already knew this information?” 

“I figured it was too much of a coincidence,” she said, still looking at the ashes, then over at Seras, “Were you able to cover anything from this?”

Seras shook her head. “The fire was too hot; it completely incinerated everything. Even if there had been evidence inside, it’s no help to us now.” 

Integra was not shocked, but she was mildly disappointed. No evidence placed them right back into square one. 

“But,” Seras spoke, “It does tell us a few things. For one, she seems to be residing in the country and she most likely has other residences or property. I couldn’t see someone leaving so quickly without having a backup plan.”

“She could easily be in the city,” Walter argued, “How do we know it’s not someone with close ties to the Queen?” 

Seras looked back at him, a puzzled expression on her face, “You think the Queen would keep a vampire in her presence?” 

“Perhaps not in her presence, but maybe she has ties with others close to the Queen and they are simply ignorant of her true nature?” Walter offered. 

“I don’t think so,” Seras mumbled. 

“Well, what do you think?” he remarked, nose high in the air. 

“I just said what I think,” she grumbled in return and Integra could only roll her eyes at the useless bickering. 

There was no use in them arguing; there was nothing to even argue about. They had nothing to go off of-nothing about the bodies, why she was doing this, how she knew they were onto her, everything. It was all so ominous and odd; how did this creature seem to know everything while Integra was still stuck in the dark. 

Casting a quick glance into the surrounding woods that had not been burnt, Integra began to entertain the idea that _**she**_ was even watching them right now while Seras and Walter bickered with each other. Seeming to sense her tension, Alucard apprehensively approached her and looked into the woods with her. 

“Even if she were observing us, I hardly doubt she would attack,” he said, gaze not once straying from the trees. 

Integra smirked,”That’s an odd way to comfort someone, Alucard.” 

“Is that what you took that statement for?” 

“Is that not what it is?”

“No, it was simply another observation. She seems to be more timid and weak when she suspects others are onto her; she relocated as soon as she sensed we were investigating. My guess is that she’s rather weak despite her age. She might have had a different approach than I did when it came to living a life like this,” Alucard explains. 

“A different approach?” Integra inquires. 

“She may have focused more on her abilities as a vampire whereas I gained familiars to gain my power,” he answers. 

Despite being confused by his answer, Integra nods like she understands. Finally, she turns her attention back to the two. They’re still bickering, but it’s never anything serious-just some light poking at each other. Glancing over at the pile of ashes, Integra decides to just pull out from the scene and allow the other authorities to handle the mess; there’s nothing here for them and to stand around and waste time was ludicrous. 

Integra gives the order then leaves with Walter in the car. While pulling into the driveway, Integra sees that Alucard and Seras have already made it back and seem to be conversing about something. However, as soon as she steps out of the car, they are silent, waiting for her next orders. 

Giving a dismissive wave, she says, “Just retired for the day,” the sun has begun to sneak up past the horizon, “You’ll continue this search in a few hours in downtown London. Although I’m not too sure if she’ll make an appearance.”

Neither of them argue against her orders and merely disappear into the basement where their coffins are. Walter and her go into her large office and she slumps into her chair. How was she expected to outsmart something that seemed to be aware of her every move? Honestly, they were a bit outlandish expectations. 

Shoving the files aside, she decided to just work on other paperwork for the time being. There was no use in her getting flustered over lack of evidence. So, that’s what she did, only pausing to talk to Walter once when he offered some food. 

“You have to eat. Integra. If not, you’ll wither away,” he had said, his old, crackling voice adding a comedic effect to his accusations. 

Integra had politely declined and claimed her head hurt and she felt too nauseous to eat at the moment. Walter had walked away, mumbling something about how her lack of food was precisely what was contributing to her headaches and sickness. Then, she was off to work once more, only realizing what time it was when the natural sunlight in the room began to fade. That was when she finally decided to sit up straight and look out the window. Seeing the trees sway in the wind under the cool moonlight was aesthetically pleasing and made Integra feel more at ease. 

She had begun to actually doze off when a deep voice startled her. 

Alucard’s large red eyes peered down at her from somewhere in the dark room, “Master?”

Groaning, Integra rubbed her eyes from their grogginess, being mindful of her glasses. “What is it?”

“In our investigation, we found nothing of importance to report,” Alucard stated, now materializing to stand a few feet away from her. 

“Why on earth would you wake me to tell me that?” Integra bitterly asked, now straightening up to stand before them. 

“If I may, Sir, you should probably go to bed,” Seras piped in before Alucard to anger her any further. 

Unable to find a proper rebuttal, Integra rubbed the temples of her head. “I was just resting my eyes.” 

“Perhaps you should come down for dinner and then ‘rest’ your eyes in your bed,” a third voice said. 

Integra turned to see Walter standing in the doorway, an exasperated expression nestled onto her face. Feeling like a child, her cheeks burned, but she didn’t argue against him, knowing he was doing what was best. Was she the reason Walter had so many wrinkles? Really if she was, she wouldn’t be surprised at all. 

So, that’s exactly what she did before she went to bed. By the time she finally retired, it was nearing midnight-and she was to be up at seven in the morning in order to be at a meeting. How lovely she thought as she crawled into bed. And the fact that the next few days went exactly like this only added to her displeasure. 

However, nearly a week later, after numerous reports containing nothing of interest, Alucard finally reported something that peaked her interest. 

“Sir, while doing our rounds in London, we caught the presence of a werewolf,” he simply stated, watching for her reaction. 

“Do you suspect that is who we are looking for?” 

“Perhaps,” Alucard says, “Would you like us to keep an eye out?” 

Nodding, Integra thought it couldn’t really hurt. The most that would happen is they would see that this werewolf has nothing to do with their suspect. “Yes, keep them in the backburner, but do try to keep an open mind.” 

“Anything else?” 

“No, that is all. You are dismissed,” Integra says, excited they finally have a lead. 

However, this lead would end up leading them to nowhere as Alucard would come within days later with the information that this werewolf was in servitude to a master. 

“Any creature follows the orders of their master; he would not be able to act on his own. He doesn’t seem to be luring humans out of the city with him, rather he seems to just be performing normal chores and tasks for humans-presumably in place of his master,” Alucard informs her and she groans at the lack of the lead. 

However, things would grow even worse for Integra in a couple of weeks when she was to report her progress to the Queen’s advisor, not aware he would bring her news instead. 

“Pardon?”

“Yes, there has been an odd disappearance in France that has been reported recently. We feel it may have something to do with our suspect,” he informs her. 

“I apologize deep-”

“There is no need for apologies,” he reassures, a comforting smile coming onto his face, “Her Highness was well aware that this case would take a while to solve even for yourself. Our culprit seems to be something...rather unusual,” he says, quickly glancing at Alucard and Seras who both stand behind Integra, “So, please, while she does wish for answers, we also understand this is a complicated being we are working with.”

The man means well, but Integra is disappointed in herself. Having brought down vampires within hours, this was a humiliating loss for her to deal with. Forcing the disappointment down her throat, she forces a small smile on her face. “Please inform the Queen that we are working hard to work towards our suspect. I plan to send Alucard and Seras both to France in order to broaden our investigation especially with this news.” 

Soon, she is dismissed and prepares to leave. Once in the car only in the presence of Walter, she groans loudly. “I take it there was no good news?” he asks, trying to lighten the mood. 

“She’s in France now,” Integra answers. 

“Ahh, so she got smart? Why on earth would she pick just now to move?” 

“I’m starting to suspect whoever she is, she has close ties to the Queen or to other authorities. It’s too high of a coincidence that she only moves as soon as we begin investigating her,” she says, “I plan on sending Alucard and Seras over there to look around. Possibly for a couple of weeks. If anything, she’s most likely settled into the country just outside the city like she has here as the man abducted was from Paris. Poor fool was most likely living his life when she came across him.”

“Oh? Will they be departing soon?” 

“I plan for them to leave at the end of this week.”

“Hm? On the second? If you wish, I could start with the preparations for that, just so you have more time for your work,” Walter recommends. 

It’s a thoughtful offer, but Integra can’t afford to hand over any more of her responsibilities at this point. Alucard and Seras are already having to do most of the physical investigation with her in the office pondering what all it could mean. She’s moving slower and slower when filling out the paperwork, and she can’t allow herself to sink any farther. “No, that’s quite alright, Walter. I’ll begin making the preparations as soon as we get back.”

Despite the fact that she only vocalized this, Walter seems to have read what was on her mind. “It is okay to ask for help every once in a while, Sir. Nobody’s shaming you for doing so.” 

Firmly, she says, “It’s my responsibility, I should be the one to do the work.” 

“Yes, you should,” Walter agrees, beating his fingers to the softly playing music in the car, “However, it would be foolish to be too stubborn to ask for help, especially given a case this serious. People are dying, and there’s nothing wrong with getting assistance if it means helping innocents.” 

She silently agrees with him and they sit in silence until they finally come back.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, I'm having to re-upload this work just because it was acting funky whenever I uploaded a new chapter. Ignore me while I'm having issues


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